Massage is used to treat sore and stiff muscles of the body through various techniques such as deep tissue, myofascial release, and trigger point massage. These massage techniques focus on target tissues including muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, skin, and joints in order to eliminate pain and increase range of motion. Athletes and exercisers commonly use massage to improve performance, reduce muscle soreness, and recover from injury. Massage may also be used to treat non-exercise related pain and dysfunction such as chronic low back and neck pain. In order to receive massage treatment, a person is usually seen by a trained massage therapist. However, repetitive visits to a massage therapist may become costly for many individuals. More recently, mechanical massage devices have become popular amongst massage therapists, athletes, and exercisers. Some mechanical massage devices include foam rollers and massage sticks. As such, the mechanical massage devices allow for a person to engage in massage treatment outside of the therapist's office.
The inventors have recognized a problem with mechanical massage devices such as foam rollers and massage sticks. Such devices may be designed for a specific massage technique and therefore may not treat an array of muscle problems. For example, different foam rollers may have different specific foam densities (e.g. high or low density foam rollers may be needed to treat different muscle groups or areas). Further, some foam rollers may also include bumps or grooves while others do not. For example, a high density foam roller may be used for myofascial release, whereas a grooved foam roller may be used for trigger point massage.
The above issues may be at least partially addressed by a massage system comprising a first massage device removably coupled to a second massage device, and a second massage device removably coupled to a third massage device. The second and third massage devices may be disposed within a bore of the first massage device. Therefore, in an example, the second device and third device may have a common central longitudinal axis when coupled with the first device. In this way, the first, second, and third massage devices may be combined into one compact unit for ease in storage and transport.
In one embodiment, a massage system may be provided, comprising one or more massage devices that may be removably coupled to one another. For example, a first massage device may include a foam roller with plurality of ridges and may have a hollow inner cylinder formed by an inner wall of the foam roller. A second massage device may comprise asymmetric projections with different radial projects about a central axis. In addition, a third massage device may comprise a solid undulating rod. Providing such a massage system allows a user to self-administer a variety of massage techniques (e.g. myofascial release, deep tissue, and trigger point massage).
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.